Diversity Day 2023
At ILA, we celebrate diversity every day. Our team is made up of 12 people of different backgrounds and origins (8 nationalities are represented!). We know from our daily work that such diversity is our strength. On this Diversity Day, we want to celebrate it by presenting you with one special place and one drink from our countries of origin. Celebrate Diversity with us!
Philipp - CEO
The Port of Hamburg, Germany
The Port of Hamburg is one of the largest ports in the world and makes Hamburg an important logistics location. Economically and scientifically, the metropolis is particularly important in the fields of aerospace technology, life sciences, and information technology, as well as for the consumer goods industry and as a media location. Hamburg is also the seat of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Fritz-Kola
Fritz-Kola was founded as a small, unconventional project in a student dorm in Hamburg. A special kola made to its own recipe with a decent amount of natural caffeine and real kola nut. Fritz-kola works for the most part with family and owner-operated businesses and is particularly proud of its social commitment.
Aline - Education and Events Officer
Tropea, Italy
Tropea is a small town on the east coast of Calabria, in southern Italy. It’s known for its clifftop historic center, beaches and delicious red onions
Tropea is also the closest maritime town to the mountain village where my family comes from in Calabria!
Calabrian Spritz
Mix together:
50 cl Amaro Jefferson (elected World best amaro in 2018), cooled
75 cl Prosecco
25 cl sparkling water
Ice cubes
A slice of citrus of your choice
Enjoy!
Eloise - Education and Events Assistant
Montagne de Bueren – Liège, Belgium
Montagne de Bueren is a 374-step staircase in Liège. The staircase is named after Vincent de Bueren, who defended Liège against an attack by the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold in the 15th century. It was built in 1881 to honour the 600 soldiers who died in the battle.
Montagne de Bueren is probably the most famous landmark of my city, Liège. I particularly like it because it is right next to my favorite brewery, Curtius!
Brasserie Curtius
Curtius Beer was born in 2012. It is a slightly cloudy, amber blonde beer with a fresh, round taste and a touch of honey. It recently won the gold medal at the Mondial de la bière. So it has already proven itself on a global level!
Emily- Education and Events Assistant
Angel of the North - Newcastle, UK
The Angel of the North is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world as well as the most prominent piece of post-World War II public art in the UK. This human-like representation is there to remind us that below the land on which the Angel is built was where coal miners worked in the dark for two hundred years. The sculpture was also designed to grasp hold of the future, expressing the transition from the industrial to the information age, as well as to be a focus for our hopes and fears as an evolvement.
Pimm's Gin & Tonic
Ingredients:
25ml Pimm’s No.1
25ml Gin
150ml Tonic
3x cucumber slices
1x fresh spring of mint
Begin by filling a tumbler glass with ice cubes (3-4).
Add 25ml Pimm’s and 25ml
gin. Add 3 slices of cucumber
and 1 sprig of mint. (Tip: Smack the mint leaves between your palms to
release their flavour). Top with tonic water,
stir and enjoy!
Christelle - Membership & Certification Executive
Lac de Gérardmer
Lac de Gérardmer is a glacial lake in the city of Gérardmer, Vosges, France, which is very close to where I am from. It is located in the Vosges mountain range at an elevation of 660 m. With a surface area of 1.16 km², it is the largest natural lake in the Vosges mountain range.
It's the perfect place to wind down, walk or bike along the lake, or practice several kinds of water sports!
Punch Vosgien
Ingredients:
1 l Mirabelle brandy
3 L Sparkling Water, cooled
1 l Pulco lemon
1 L Lemon Syrup
0.5 l Cane syrup
In a large bowl, pour the brandy, lemon syrup, pulco lemon, and cane syrup. Mix with a spoon. Cover and keep cool for a minimum of 24 hours. Add the sparkling water before serving.
Smita - Membership & Certification Assistant
Le Morne Brabant, Mauritius
Le Morne Brabant is an iconic mountain in Mauritius, where I am from. This wonderful natural site played a significant role in Mauritius’ history as well. Before slavery was abolished, Le Morne Brabant was used as a refuge for escaped slaves, called Maroons. Le Morne provided them with a good hiding place. Here, they arranged themselves in little settlements on the summit and in the caves found along the sides of the mountain.
According to the story, following the abolition of slavery in 1835, a group of officers climbed the mountain to tell them the news. The maroons mistook the intentions of the arrivals and, believing themselves surrounded, threw themselves off the Morne, preferring death to slavery.
Green Tiki Monk
Ingredients :
40 ml fat wash coconut butter rum
10 ml green chartreuse
1 dash absinthe
10 ml Homemade Roasted pineapple syrup
40 ml Victoria pineapple juice
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake for 10 seconds. Strain and serve over ice. Top up with crushed ice, garnish, and add a straw.
Goizeder - Communication Executive
San Fermin - Pamplona, Spain
More than a place, I wanted to share with you a festival from my region that is internationally known, San Fermin, in Pamplona.
Although officially a celebration in honour of Pamplona’s patron saint, the festival is most famous for its Running of the Bulls, when daring festivalgoers clad in red and white take to the streets to be chased by bulls.
Pamplona now draws about 1 million visitors for the festival of San Fermin every year. For a city with a population of 200,000 people, that’s a lot to handle!
Kalimotxo
A sweet and simple red wine “cocktail”, the Kalimotxo has origins rooted in the Basque region of Spain. Cringeworthy for wine lovers – but as they say don’t judge something until you have tried it! You'll just need 3 ingredients: Cola, Red wine, and a slice of lemon.
I chose this drink as every time I have it, it reminds me of my hometown, my culture, and the many San Fermin summer days spent in the city of Pamplona, wearing white and red of course!
It also helps with the longing on those July days when you are far during the festival of San Fermin.
Try it!
Francesca - Communication Officer
Torre dei Contini – Canelli, Italy
I come from a small town in Southern Piedmont – Canelli, which is surrounded by rolling hills covered with vineyards, forests, remote cottages, towers, and castles. Here is an example! The Contini Tower once marked the boundaries of the city of Canelli. It stands in a gorgeous panoramic position. Access is always open and free of charge.
Moscato di Canelli
Canelli is considered the cradle of Italian sparkling wine production. Canelli's kilometre-long underground wineries such as Gancia, Bosca, Contratto, and Coppo have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2014. A specific variety of Muscat wine, Moscato di Canelli, became a DOCG in 2019. It is a white dessert wine, delicious with fruit and patisserie in general, ideal with hazelnut cake. Excellent to cool down hot summer days or to accompany aperitif time with refreshing sips. Serve chilled at 8/10°C.
Giulio - Communication Assistant
Woodpecker Disco - Cervia, Italy
The Woodpecker used to be a popular nightclub in the seaside resort of Milano Marittima in the 1950s.
I chose this place for two reasons.
First, in Italy, there are so many abandoned places that hold historical and cultural importance for their role in the past. It would be vital to take steps to save the socio-cultural heritage that these places represent!
Secondly, looking at this place I feel what the Finns call 'Kaukokaipuu': feeling nostalgia for a place one has never been. To feel this emotion is to directly experience the logic of the unconscious: time and space break down in favour of familiar cultural concepts and trends, in this case the fabulous Italy of the 1960s.
Disaronno Sour
Ingredients:
50 ml Disaronno (Italy’s amaretto liqueur)
25 ml Lemon Juice
Egg white foam,
Garnish: A slice or wedge of fresh lemon and Maraschino Cherry
Pour the Disaronno Amaretto, lemon juice, and egg white into a cocktail shaker. Do not add ice. Secure the lid and shake hard for 30 seconds. Now add the ice. Shake for a further 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of fresh lemon, add the cherries, and serve.
Valérie-Anne - Legal Executive
Monumental staircase - Auch, France
Completed in 1863, the monumental staircase of Auch, capital of Gascony, connects the upper and lower town. With the double flights, the staircase has 374 steps. Listed as a Historic Monument and renovated in 2008, it offers three successive landings.
On the first, lowest landing, stands the bronze statue of the Gascon hero, Charles de Batz de Castelmore, better known as D'Artagnan, captain of the King's Musketeers.
When climbing this staircase, take in the view of the Pyrenees, the Sainte Marie Cathedral and the Armagnac Tower.
A staircase to climb at least once in your life...
Pousse Rapière
Pousse Rapière is a Gascon cocktail that hides history and tradition.
In a flute, mix :
2 cl of Pousse Rapière liqueur
12 cl of Vin sauvage
1 slice of orange
Santàt ! *that's Gascon for Cheers!
Oana - HR and Administration Officer
The Infinity Column – Targu Jiu, Romania
Constantin Brancusi, the Romanian who remained in history as a genius of sculpture, is especially famous for his masterpiece, the Infinity Column. The work is part of a trilogy, which can be visited in Targu Jiu, my hometown. The monumental ensemble is made up of the Infinite Column, the Kiss Gate and the Table of Silence.
The Infinity Column weighs 29,173 kilograms and is 29 meters high. Its constituent elements are overlapping pyramid trunks, which respect the "law of plastic harmony", discovered by Brancusi.
Țuică
“Țuică” - It is a 100% Romanian word. Real Țuica is distilled from plums, of which Romanians are among the world's largest producers. The drink was first documented at the beginning of the 16th century. Țuica is usually served as an aperitif to welcome guests or offer a toast. In winter, it can be drunk hot, spiced up with pepper. It can be found in all happy or less happy events (weddings, baptisms, funerals...).
Laurence - Finance Assistant
Brasserie Cantillon - Brussels, Belgium
I was born in Brussels: tasting Belgian beers has not escaped my years of study in this beautiful city. I particularly like a typical beer, brewed in the Belgian capital, which even has its own museum in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the Brasserie Cantillon.
Gueuze
Formerly called 'the little champagne of Brussels', because of the method used for this beverage, we simply call it gueuze because the adjective 'little' does not lend itself to this highly delicious beer.
It's up to you to choose the one that suits you best!